| New & Newsworthy |
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Canadian Research Center and Network on Gender, Mental Health and Violence across the Lifespan
This new center, launched in November 2009, has been funded for five years by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. It will conduct research on intimate partner violence, related child maltreatment, gender issues, mental health and resilience. The interests of the center’s leadership are particularly wide ranging and are international in scope. They include the development of preventive interventions to prevent domestic violence and child maltreatment; resilience in the context of intimate partner violence in various settings and countries; and also resilience in those who experience maltreatment as children. Project activities will include secondary data analysis, and the development of knowledge translation and exchange. The Center will provide a web site soon. |
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European Network for Workplace Health Promotion (ENWHP)
A new ENWHP campaign was launched by the European Commission on 8 October 2009 to promote mental health and address problems of mental illness in the workplace. The slogan is “Work, in tune with life. Move Europe.” For information, go to: http://www.enwhp.org/enwhp-initiatives/current-initiative-work-in-tune-with-life.html |
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Pan American Health Organization’s Mental Health Strategy
The Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) adopted a new Strategy and Plan of Action on Mental Health at its meeting on 28 September – 2 October 2009 in Washington, D.C. The document places considerable emphasis on mental health promotion. It is available in Spanish and English on the PAHO website, www.paho.org (go to “Highlights” in the home page menu, then to “Mandates and Declarations,” Resolution CD49.R17.) PAHO serves as the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Americas. |
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The George Albee Memorial Lecture 2009
The George Albee Memorial Lecture was delivered by Professor Clemens M.H. Hosman of the Prevention Center at Radbout and Maastricht Universities, The Netherlands, at the World Federation for Mental Health Congress in Athens, 5 September 2009. The lecture honors George Albee and his significant work in advancing the concept of preventing mental disorders.
Click here for Professor Hosman’s lecture slides which provide a valuable overview of current developments in the prevention field. |
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European Promenpol Project
The project, funded for 2007-2009 by the European Commission, has placed a “toolkit” of four inter-related manuals on its website. They cover generic mental health promotion, and mental health promotion in schools, in workplaces, and in older people’s residences. The website also has links to relevant databases on these topics, and to a number of e-forums. See http://www.mentalhealthpromotion.net |
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2010 World Conference
The web site for the Sixth World Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental and Behavioral Disorders is at http://wmhconf2010.hhd.org |
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Melbourne Charter
VicHealth (The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation) has placed a print-friendly black and white version of the Melbourne Charter on its web site (the link is www.vichealth.gov.au/charter). The Charter is the outcome document of the Fifth World Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental and Behavioural Disorders, held in Melbourne, Australia, on 10-12 September 2008. Its preparation was an integral part of program planning for the meeting. |
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National Research Council/Institute of Medicine Report
The National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine in the United States have released an important report, “Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities.” This 2009 publication surveys current research on the prevention of disorders, recommends more attention to mental health promotion, and suggests steps needed to improve coordination of government policy.
Go to www.nap.edu, the web site of the National Academies Press, and click on “Mental Health and Behavior” in the menu for information about ordering the book. The text is also available there online (500 pages), and individual chapters are easy to access.
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WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health
The final report of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health, headed by Sir Michael Marmot, was released on 28 August 2008. The Commission’s web site at www.who.int/social_determinants/en has a link to the 256-page report. The web site also has a large amount of relevant material gathered during the preparation of the report. |
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European Union Pact for Mental Health and Well-being
The European Union launched a Mental Health Pact at a high-level conference in Brussels on 13 June 2008. The Pact calls for action by member states in the following priority areas:
- prevention of depression and suicide
- mental health in youth and education
- mental health in workplace settings
- mental health of older people
- stigma and social exclusion
Member states are invited to exchange information, identify good practices and success factors in policy and stakeholder action, to develop appropriate recommendations and action plans, and to communicate results in a series of conferences to be held on the priority areas in the coming years. The text of the Pact is available at: ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/mental/docs/pact_en.pdf
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| In March 2008 the World Federation for Mental Health published a monograph on “Building Awareness – Reducing Risk: Mental Illness and Suicide.” It summarizes an International Experts Forum on mental disorders, suicide risk, and prevention. To obtain a copy, send an email to dmaguire@wfmh.com. |
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| IMHPA – European Network for Mental Health Promotion and Mental Disorder Prevention placed a new resource with information about training events for mental health promotion on its web site (www.imhpa.net) in May 2008. The web site also has a report from the conference “Joining Forces Across Europe for Prevention and Promotion in Mental Health” held in Barcelona, 13-15 September 2007. |
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